When a theater company gives out free tickets to a performance, it’s called “papering the house.” But what kind of “paper” are we talking about, anyway? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Papering...
Quiz Guy Greg Pliska has a word game in which the object is to guess the color-related terms suggested by his clues. Try this one: What color-coded term is suggested by the phrase “information gained without serious effort”? This is part...
In an earlier episode, the hosts heard from a woman who, as a teenager, was scolded by her grandmother for wearing a skirt that Granny said was almost up to possible. The woman wondered about that phrase’s meaning and origin. Grant shares...
Pope’s nose is a jocular name for the fatty tail end of a turkey, the part also called the parson’s nose, or more anatomically, the uropygium. Holly in Oregon heard the expression from a nun in Alaska and wondered whether it was irreverent. It fits...
Is there any connection between term Indian summer and the term Indian giver? A caller worries that might be the case, but the hosts assure her it’s not. By the way, that marvelous cultural history of Indian summer that Martha recommends is...
What do you call a word made from a blend of two other words, like motel from motor and hotel? A listener says his term for them is “Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup words,” after the old commercial: “You got chocolate in my peanut...